APPETITE FOR DISCUSSION
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SoulMonster
APPETITE FOR DISCUSSION
Welcome to Appetite for Discussion -- a Guns N' Roses fan forum!

Please feel free to look around the forum as a guest, I hope you will find something of interest. If you want to join the discussions or contribute in other ways then you need to become a member. We especially welcome anyone who wants to share documents for our archive or would be interested in translating or transcribing articles and interviews.

Registering is free and easy.

Cheers!
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Ain't It Fun

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Ain't It Fun Empty Ain't It Fun

Post by Soulmonster Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:29 pm

Ain't It Fun Newbor11
AIN'T IT FUN
Album:
The Spaghetti Incident?, 1993, track no. 6.



Written by:
Cheetah Chrome and Peter Laughner (Dead Boys).

Musicians:
Vocals: W. Axl Rose/Michael Monroe
Lead & Rhythm Guitars: Slash
Bass: Duff McKagan
Drums: Matt Sorum
Additional Guitar: Mike Staggs

Live performances:
'Ain't It Fun' has not been played live.
Lyrics:

Ain't it fun when you're always on the run
Ain't it fun when your friends despise what you've become
Ain't it fun when you get so high
Well...that you just can't come
Ain't it fun when you know that you're gonna die young

It's such fun [10 times]

Ain't it fun when you taking care of number one
Ain't it fun when you feel like you just gotta get a gun
Ain't it fun when you just can't seem to find your tongue
Cause you stuck it too deep into something that really stung
It's such fun

Well, so you come up to me and spit right in my face
I didn't even feel it
It was such a disgrace

I punched my fist right through the glass
I didn't even feel it
It happened so fast

Such fun [12 times]

Ain't it fun when you tell her she's just a cunt
Ain't it fun when you she splits you and leaves you on the run
Well, Ain't it fun when you broken up every band that you ever begun
Ain't it fun when you know that you're gonna die young

It's such fun
Such fun


Quotes regarding the song

We also do a tribute to Stiv Bators, we do 'Ain't It Fun" with Mike Monroe. And it was really strange, 'cause when we did it, you know, both of us in certain places, without even trying, ended up sounding a bit like Stiv, you know, candles would flicker, bells would ring for no reason and we were like "Stiv's here!
Axl Rose interview, 1991

Stiv Bators died. And we're like, I don't know, hanging out somewhere in LA or New York, or something. And we thought, "Let's do a Dead Boys song". And that was that.
Slash Interview, January 1994

It was Mike Monroe's idea to do a Dead Boys song as a tribute to Stiv Bators.
Guitar Player, January 1994

We were talking about it earlier, that the lyrics to that song pretty much sum up where we come from as a band. Like, you know… Especially on the surface. (...) And when I hear it, I just go: "Yeah, ok, check, check".
Axl and Slash interview, Rockline 1994

It was also a tribute to Stiv. And Mike Monroe, who guest sings on the song, from the band Hanoi Rocks, was a really good friend of Stiv's and… He turned me onto a bunch of Dead Boys stuff. I already knew the song, and it was a song I liked and he got me all these tapes and things. And then I was like: "Why don't we just play it?". And it was kinda like a tribute for him, 'cause it was really hard on Mike and… And other people in his life when Stiv did pass away.
Axl and Slash interview, Rockline 1994

But also there was the lyrical content to consider, like The Dead Boys' 'Ain't It Fun', which was something that represented what we've seen and been through as a group - and even before the group, as people, the shit that we've seen in this bullshit, and what's gone with us since we became successful, that became the key song, the one that was very indicative of what GN'R is.
Kerrang! January 8, 1994

Besides, when I did their single, "Ain't It Fun," it was a spontaneous kind of thing for Stiv Batters. They flew me over to L.A. to do the sax and harp on the "Use Your Illusion" album, which I did on that song "Bad Obsession." So while I was there I was playing in the car, I made a tape compilation of the Dead Boys for Axl and when he heard "Ain't It Fun," he was like "wait a minute." Cause he told me he had never heard of the Dead Boys. And I was like, "that's amazing, you have to know the Dead Boys." So he says, "I seem to remember this song, it's great, let’s get the band together, let’s do this song. Let's do it as a duet." Well, fucking brilliant! In memory of Stiv Bators. He had all these plans for a video, which never happened, however, I said, "all I want for this is to put 'in memory of Stiv Bators." Just to make people aware it's for Stiv. And it ended up on the "Spaghetti Incident" album. When we did it, it was magical. We sang it live together. We did a little ritual there and lit candles around us there, because he used to do that, he was like a magician in one way. However, we did the song and it was like the 3 of us were singing. It wasn't a duet, it was like Stiv's voice was coming through Axl. In places he sounds just like Stiv. It gave me the creeps. It gave me the chills when he said, "ain't it fun when you feel like you gotta get a gun." In a couple of moments it's just like Stiv. I was like, "wow!" He was definitely there. The guy who actually wrote the song died. Laughner and Cheetah Chrome wrote this. Peter Laughner was like the Dead Boys roadie. It was the only song he ever wrote in his life. And then he died. And when Dead Boys did the record, they recorded the guy in some hallway, he was drunk on the floor one night saying, "I'm dead, I'm dead." So at the end of the Dead Boys version, when it fades out you can hear the echo of the guy going, "I'm dead, I'm dead." So Axl heard that and was like "Fuck man, maybe we shouldn't do this song." And I was like, "no, no, no, no, no, Stiv was about love. This is the right thing. It couldn't be anymore right than this." So all I asked for was mention Stiv Bators name on the record, that's great, and spell my name right. Cause my damager at the time was like, "this will be big time then, should I speak to the Guns 'N' Roses manager?" I was like, "Don't do nothing of the kind. If I catch you talking to anybody about this I'll kill you, you bastard. You're not going to fuck this up! I want to make sure the song gets on the album and that's it." I didn't get anything for it except a normal session fee for playing in the studio. So, it's never been a money making scheme.
Metal Sludge, March 2, 2004

[Axl] told me over the phone that he’d never heard the Dead Boys before, so I made a tape of their first album [Young Loud and Snotty] and the best of the second album [We Have Come for Your Children], and we listened to the tape in Hollywood, driving around in Axl’s car.

That was when he first heard Ain’t It Fun. He was like, ‘Wow! We have to do this song - we’re doing a covers album next.’ They [Guns N’ Roses] were already working on ‘The Spaghetti Incident?’, and I suggested that we did the song as a duet, in memory of Stiv Bators - which we did. And it became the first single off the album.”

Axl really sounded like Stiv when he sang on that song, too. After we’d finished recording the vocals, there was a piano in the studio, and I was sitting there playing it. All of a sudden, The Rolling Stones and Kiss pinball machines behind me started going off by themselves. When I got back into the control room, I asked Axl, ‘Do those pinball machines ever go off by themselves?’ He said, ‘Oh, no. Never.’ I said it must’ve been Stiv getting his wings, like in It’s a Wonderful Life: ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.’ Axl said, ‘That must be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard anybody say about anybody else.’

Stiv Bators is one of the best kept secrets in rock ‘n’ roll. I always felt a spiritual connection to him. When Hanoi Rocks was breaking up after [drummer] Razzle died, I moved in with Stiv in London in 1985, and we lived together for a year before I moved to New York. Johnny Thunders moved in with us as well. There was definitely never a dull moment.

God bless Axl for putting ‘In memory of Stiv Bators’ on the [‘The Spaghetti Incident?’] record sleeve. I didn’t want any money for my involvement in the song; I just asked that they mention Stiv Bators on the album, to honour his memory, which they kindly did.
Louder Sound, December 4, 2020

[On "Bad Obsession"] I did the harp [aka harmonica] and the horn section too. Slash was in the studio for that, and clearly the musical director for that. The harp part, he wanted specifically for that part to be exactly what it was. I had fun doing that. And as it turned out, I had a tape of “Ain’t It Fun” and played it for Axl and we ended up doing “Ain’t It Fun” too, on the same session. So that led to that. Those guys were great to work with and it was a cool vibe. The Record Plant studio in L.A., they were keeping it open, and Axl was sleeping there in one room. I think he was sleeping under the piano.
Metal Edge, August 2022

When [Axl] heard, ‘Ain’t It Fun’ … he called Slash and said let’s put the band together tomorrow, we gotta record this song. [...] Of course I wanted the line, ‘Ain’t it fun when you’ve broken up every band that you ever begun,' [laughs]. That was true for me at the time. [...] In some places [Axl] sounds so much like Stiv. I was like, ‘Wow, it was not really a duet. It was like a trio.’ Stiv was there in spirit, sure.


Ain't It Fun Newbor11


Last edited by Soulmonster on Sat Jun 10, 2023 10:13 am; edited 25 times in total
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Post by hellobeatle Sun May 22, 2011 4:05 am

Michael Monroe and Mike Staggs?? They're on it, right?
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Post by Soulmonster Sun May 22, 2011 7:10 am

hellobeatle wrote:Michael Monroe and Mike Staggs?? They're on it, right?

Yes they are. Thanks for reminding me to work on the musicians' lists Ain't It Fun 679352.
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Post by Soulmonster Fri Aug 28, 2020 5:36 pm


It's a great song. Do you like the original?

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Post by Blackstar Fri Aug 28, 2020 8:05 pm

This was the first version, but it wasn't officially released until 2002, so probably GnR and Michael Monroe hadn't heard it.



It was a short-lived band that recorded only demos and then two of its members (including Cheetah Chrome) went and formed the Dead Boys with Stiv Bators, and the other two (including Peter Laughner) formed Pere Ubu (another great band).
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Post by Uli Sat Aug 29, 2020 5:17 pm

Coincidence or not, I have just ordered the dvd of the movie about Dead Boys singer Stiv Bator, who died 30 years ago...

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Post by Soulmonster Thu Sep 24, 2020 8:46 am

Michael Monroe talking about the recording of the song:

Besides, when I did their single, "Ain't It Fun," it was a spontaneous kind of thing for Stiv Batters. They flew me over to L.A. to do the sax and harp on the "Use Your Illusion" album, which I did on that song "Bad Obsession." So while I was there I was playing in the car, I made a tape compilation of the Dead Boys for Axl and when he heard "Ain't It Fun," he was like "wait a minute." Cause he told me he had never heard of the Dead Boys. And I was like, "that's amazing, you have to know the Dead Boys." So he says, "I seem to remember this song, it's great, let’s get the band together, let’s do this song. Let's do it as a duet." Well, fucking brilliant! In memory of Stiv Bators. He had all these plans for a video, which never happened, however, I said, "all I want for this is to put 'in memory of Stiv Bators." Just to make people aware it's for Stiv. And it ended up on the "Spaghetti Incident" album. When we did it, it was magical. We sang it live together. We did a little ritual there and lit candles around us there, because he used to do that, he was like a magician in one way. However, we did the song and it was like the 3 of us were singing. It wasn't a duet, it was like Stiv's voice was coming through Axl. In places he sounds just like Stiv. It gave me the creeps. It gave me the chills when he said, "ain't it fun when you feel like you gotta get a gun." In a couple of moments it's just like Stiv. I was like, "wow!" He was definitely there. The guy who actually wrote the song died. Laughner and Cheetah Chrome wrote this. Peter Laughner was like the Dead Boys roadie. It was the only song he ever wrote in his life. And then he died. And when Dead Boys did the record, they recorded the guy in some hallway, he was drunk on the floor one night saying, "I'm dead, I'm dead." So at the end of the Dead Boys version, when it fades out you can hear the echo of the guy going, "I'm dead, I'm dead." So Axl heard that and was like "Fuck man, maybe we shouldn't do this song." And I was like, "no, no, no, no, no, Stiv was about love. This is the right thing. It couldn't be anymore right than this." So all I asked for was mention Stiv Bators name on the record, that's great, and spell my name right. Cause my damager at the time was like, "this will be big time then, should I speak to the Guns 'N' Roses manager?" I was like, "Don't do nothing of the kind. If I catch you talking to anybody about this I'll kill you, you bastard. You're not going to fuck this up! I want to make sure the song gets on the album and that's it." I didn't get anything for it except a normal session fee for playing in the studio. So, it's never been a money making scheme.
Metal Sludge, March 2, 2004
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Post by Uli Sat Dec 05, 2020 1:31 pm

Michael Monroe talks more about the song (and positive things about Axl):

Monroe first met Axl Rose in New York in 1989 when the Guns N’ Roses frontman gatecrashed Monroe’s video shoot for Dead, Jail or Rock ’N’ Roll to tell the singer that he was a huge fan of Hanoi Rocks. The two men bonded over a shared love of Scottish hard rockers Nazareth after Monroe explained that the title track of his 1989 solo album Not Fakin’ It was a Nazareth cover, and Rose ended up guesting in the video for Dead, Jail or Rock ’N’ Roll. “A mutually beneficial, and truly great friendship started from there,” remembers Monroe.

“We got along really well, and he was a really nice guy, and even though it’s Little Steven [Van Zandt] who sings backing vocals on Dead, Jail or Rock ‘N’ Roll, I asked Axl if he wanted to come up and do a couple of takes with us for the video. He said, ‘Sure.’ And as nice a guy as he was, he let us use the footage for the video, which got me a little more fame, and maybe I got him a little bit more street credibility in return.”

“Axl and I had many great conversations over the years. He’s highly evolved, very spiritual, and we talked about some pretty heavy stuff. He’s a really interesting personality, and he’s very smart. He’d always call me up whenever he was in New York, and we’d go out to dinner, and he was never late - he always a gentleman. I have nothing but good things to say about him.”

During the recording of Guns N’ Roses epic Use Your Illusion double albums, Rose invited Monroe to Los Angeles to play harmonica and saxophone on the Gn’R song Bad Obsession, which ultimately also led to the two singers duetting on a cover of the Dead Boys’ Ain’t It Fun on Guns N’ Roses’ 1993 covers album “The Spaghetti Incident?”

“He told me over the phone that he’d never heard the Dead Boys before,” Monroe recalls, “so I made a tape of their first album [Young Loud and Snotty] and the best of the second album [We Have Come for Your Children], and we listened to the tape in Hollywood, driving around in Axl’s car.”

“That was when he first heard Ain’t It Fun. He was like, ‘Wow! We have to do this song - we’re doing a covers album next.’ They [Guns N’ Roses] were already working on ‘The Spaghetti Incident?’, and I suggested that we did the song as a duet, in memory of Stiv Bators - which we did. And it became the first single off the album.”

“Axl really sounded like Stiv when he sang on that song, too. After we’d finished recording the vocals, there was a piano in the studio, and I was sitting there playing it. All of a sudden, The Rolling Stones and Kiss pinball machines behind me started going off by themselves. When I got back into the control room, I asked Axl, ‘Do those pinball machines ever go off by themselves?’ He said, ‘Oh, no. Never.’ I said it must’ve been Stiv getting his wings, like in It’s a Wonderful Life: ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.’ Axl said, ‘That must be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard anybody say about anybody else.’

“Stiv Bators is one of the best kept secrets in rock ‘n’ roll,” Monroe adds. “I always felt a spiritual connection to him. When Hanoi Rocks was breaking up after [drummer] Razzle died, I moved in with Stiv in London in 1985, and we lived together for a year before I moved to New York. Johnny Thunders moved in with us as well. There was definitely never a dull moment.”

“God bless Axl for putting ‘In memory of Stiv Bators’ on the [‘The Spaghetti Incident?’] record sleeve. I didn’t want any money for my involvement in the song; I just asked that they mention Stiv Bators on the album, to honour his memory, which they kindly did.”
https://www.loudersound.com/news/michael-monroe-on-axl-rose-lemmy-and-how-motley-crue-killed-hanoi-rocks
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Post by Blackstar Sun Jan 01, 2023 4:58 pm

[On "Bad Obsession"] I did the harp [aka harmonica] and the horn section too. Slash was in the studio for that, and clearly the musical director for that. The harp part, he wanted specifically for that part to be exactly what it was. I had fun doing that. And as it turned out, I had a tape of “Ain’t It Fun” and played it for Axl and we ended up doing “Ain’t It Fun” too, on the same session. So that led to that. Those guys were great to work with and it was a cool vibe. The Record Plant studio in L.A., they were keeping it open, and Axl was sleeping there in one room. I think he was sleeping under the piano.
Metal Edge, August 2022

https://www.metaledgemag.com/interviews/michael-monroe-is-living-it-up-at-60-its-too-late-to-die-young-anymore
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Post by Soulmonster Sat Jun 10, 2023 10:12 am

When [Axl] heard, ‘Ain’t It Fun’ … he called Slash and said let’s put the band together tomorrow, we gotta record this song. [...] Of course I wanted the line, ‘Ain’t it fun when you’ve broken up every band that you ever begun,' [laughs]. That was true for me at the time. [...] In some places [Axl] sounds so much like Stiv. I was like, ‘Wow, it was not really a duet. It was like a trio.’ Stiv was there in spirit, sure.
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Post by Soulmonster Sat Jun 10, 2023 10:15 am

Cheetah Chrome, founding member of Dead Boys:

At that point, the Dead Boys were kind of becoming a footnote. At the time, it was kind of nice that somebody actually remembered us. [...] Having your song on a Guns N’ Roses album is a considerable chunk of change. I moved down to Nashville, got resettled down there and was able to live and not work for a while. Definitely turned my life around a little bit. It got me through a rough time.
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